The giant Christmas tree at Mandaue City’s heritage plaza. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Mandaue City’s Christmas Village is almost complete.
As of Wednesday, November 27, Engr. Marivic Cabigas, head of the City Engineering Office (CEO), reported a 95 percent completion rate.
Cabigas said that they are just finishing the testing and installation of the series lights and other Christmas decor.
READ: Soon-Ruiz questions Mandaue’s P16M Christmas budget for 2025
Mandaue’s Christmas Village and its 13-meter Christmas will officially be lighted at 8 p.m. on Sunday, December 1, to also mark the start of “Pasko sa Mandaue.”
Karla Victoria Cortes, the city’s public information officer, said that the city government allotted P3.8 million for this year’s Christmas Village. The same amount was also spent in the city’s Disney-themed park Christmas Village in 2023.
READ: Lighting of giant Christmas tree marks official start of Christmas celebration in Mandaue
CEO personnel started working on the giant Christmas tree in the last week of July.
Work started earlier than usual because they were anticipating interruptions that may result from weather disturbances, Cabigas said.
The city’s Christmas tree that was made from steel was completed early. But the installation of lights and other decors took time. Mandaue City’s giant Christmas tree is designed to look like a Santa House at the same time.
READ: Mandaue officials support Palace’s calls to ditch lavish Christmas parties
Cabigas said they hope to complete their preparations before Sunday.
| CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino
Mandaue’s Christmas Village
Architect Francis Cabigas said they recycled some of the Christmas decors from last year for this year’s Christmas Village to save on cost.
Cabigas said that as a finishing touch, they plan to also paint nearby roads to complement the brightness of their Christmas decors.
“Ang look sa Chrismas ron, in a way, mura siya og a village within the Christmas tree,” Architect Cabigas said.
Engineer Cabigas said that the city’s Christmas Village will be open to all Mandauehanons and even the non-city residents who would wish to come visit during the holiday celebration.
“Mao ra gyud ni ma-offer sa City of Mandaue for everyone. Not only [for the] Mandauehanons but [also] those who want to visit Mandaue. Mao ra gyud ni amoang mahatag,” said Cabigas.
Cabigas said that this year’s Christmas Village will be on display for over a month or until the early part of January 2025. This will then be removed to give way to the city’s Sinulog preparations.